Jorge Contreras, who researches and teaches on patent licensing and is a frequent public commenter on the case, discussed Apple’s utility patent claims. Jonas Anderson, who teaches patent law and has litigated design patent cases, discussed Apple’s design patent claims. And Christine Farley, a scholar and teacher of U.S. and international trademark law, discussed Apple’s trade dress claims.

BACKGROUND

On August 25 Apple won a stunning victory in its long-running patent battle with Samsung. A jury in San Jose, California decided for Apple on nearly all counts, finding Samsung liable for willfully infringing Apple’s patents covering the design of its iPhone and iPad products, as well as features like “tap to zoom” and other finger-sliding commands. Samsung was unsuccessful in asserting its own patents, mostly covering wireless telecommunications standards, against Apple. The jury assessed more than $1 billion in damages against Samsung, an amount that could be further increased by the judge. Even more critically, a hearing has been set for Sept. 20 to determine whether the court will issue an injunction preventing the sale of Samsung’s products in the US.

PIJIP faculty will lead an informal discussion of the decision and its implications for intellectual property law and litigation as well as for technology markets. Bring your own smart phone/tablet.

PRESS INQUIRIES

For substantive press inquiries about the issues in the case, contact Jorge Contreras (contreras@wcl.american.educell 314-566-6695)